Sunday, April 06, 2008

Where are they now?

Having gone to uni at Lagos State University, I have had more than my fair share of run-in with cult boys. In one case, I was threatened directly with a burning ( he said he would burn my face with his cigarette and went on to try an "obtain" from me for at least 6 months after that).

Other times during class hours, I would hear the loud report of gun shots and take my position under the closest table. An occurence at night? Well that's a long story. Let me share one of many stories:

There was a time when I was reading in school overnight and there was a show ( Miss LASU) going on in school. I only heard (not saw) someone run to the hall and shout “Get out! Get out!" before the entire class emptied out. A classmate who had spent all night sleeping was the first out of the hall. LOL! I almost fell on my way out but saw a flash of yellow as someone wearing that color shirt helped me up. I did not even look round to say thank you, so intent was I on reaching the exit. I still do not know who it was till today. Lagos State University had no hostels /dormitories (I don't know if that has changed now) so we ran to the staff quarters. Luckily my friends and I knew a boy who lived in the BQ of the staff quarters so we all crammed into his tiny room - quietly sitting wherever we could, hugging our knees. This was at about 2 a.m. For hours after, the normal night silence was punctuated with the loud tut-tut of gun shots, For about an hour after we got in, people would come up to the door and knock but no-one opened the door. It was either you they were actually people in need or people that wanted to bring the "party" to our hide-out. There was no way of knowing so we played it safe. I still pray that we did not unknowingly leave out anyone that actually needed help. By about 5a.m, the gun shots finally stopped. We did not leave the room until we saw people walking around. By this time, the damage that had been done was unspeakable, a few people lay around, dead. There was a boy’s body in a ditch near the Engineering department where I was to write a test at 7a.m that morning. Naturally the test was cancelled. Heck, the school was shut down. We also learned that a lot of girls were raped that night while trying to flee from the show venue where it all started.

Apart from the odd sightings of former cult boys running along side some politician’s car (In the capacity of official security detail), I wondered whether they ever amounted to much.

The other day while talking to a few colleagues, the conversation turned to cultism. There were a few boys in the group and one mentioned something that sounded a bit too knowledgeable. We all turned to him as one. After a few minutes he admitted that he used to be a member of a cult and told us that he was left with no choice…it was either that or die. Well, he chose not to die. If he ever killed anyone, I don’t know but for the 4 years I have known him, I would have described him to anyone as a very pleasant and unassuming guy. We even call him guy smiley at work to show you just how pleasant he is. So yep, they live and work amongst us. Hmmm.

even in schoolsome of them were the sweetest,quitetest,nicest guys....he may still be a part of them...some of them never leave.....we all have to live with the choices we make...those decisions were tough for some of the guys that had to make them............

If you are looking for them, look around you closely, they're all around you. They're in banks, hospitals, Oil companies e.t.c A lot are into Politics. Most of them are also abroad. I remember a particular University in the country solved its cultism issues by sending a list of cult members to various foreign embassies. In short, the authorities deduced that most cultists planned on going abroad for holiday/study. Cultism collapsed like a pack of cards in that institution. No one wanted to toy with his chances of traveling abroad. However , Cultism has been on the wane in recent times for funny reasons. The number enemy of cultism is Yahoo. Boys now prefer to stay at cybercafes in the hope of easy money other than dancing around in a forest drinking human blood.

Wow....Confra boys we used to call them in my school...back then we knew them all...I lived in an estate where half the guys were in one cult group or the other and I ate with them, lived with them, went to school at night with them to read...It was everywhere and I just acted like I didn't know what was what...Seriously, everyone needed to know someone in one so he/she could know they had a measure of safety...indeed that was how it was...some guy wants to hit on you, another says leave am o! Na so so and so 'younger sister'... of course they were not my brothers but I took advantage of what I knew of them, all the while acting like I didn't know.May God deliver us cos they have risen in the ranks everywhere, some are pastors even...

great post...have a close relative who is a yahoo guy and prob a cultist (have heard he flys colors) and this really worries me. there was a time he said thieves were always bothering so he ran from home, i dnt think those were thieves, i think he was being lured into cultism and im really concerned for his safety. will continue to pray cos thats all one can do rite now. thanks again

My hubbys flatmate was an executioner for buca, no explanations necesary.He was always smilling, girls in grad school used to call him "smiley". he was always happy. The only time i believed he was dangerous was when another friend ( who had a notorious "bad mouth") came in from his school and after a little yabis, smiley guy stopped smiling and Mr bad mouth offered a quick apology.( he still bad mouthed him behind his back) Today he is a practising profesional.

My boyfriend was a pirate...a sailor he would call it...he actually didnt have a choice...he was a fine lagos boy..I remember once they beat the living daylights out of him b4 he agreed to join...he still got booted out of school at some point..

a family member was a cult boy and got kicked out of lasu - he did not tell anyone. he had to start all over at lag.

in my 80's day at unife, now obafemi awolowo uni, there were cult boys but the worst they did was probably slash car tyres. i was invited several times but no one thot of beating me up for not joining, they probably were not as wild as the modern day ones. nevertheless, when they started getting out of hand, a few 10's of them got kicked out in their final year, some in their 3rd year.

Men you guys must have lived in shock and fear everyday! It just reminds me of the only time this ever happened on OAU campus, it was horrible but it was the only time...people died, school was not the same for a long time...the cult is a terrible thing! i met someone who had been a member recently too! Hmmm!

Hmn, I hear some of them still carry on even after school. Remember a friends brother getting married in Jand and Eiye boys came around and at a point started to make funny noises and gathered in a corner.

hmm, girl that was pretty scary!! The idea of dead bodies lying around and all those girls they must've infected with HIV/Syphillis/Something?!! Lord Jesus. Nigerian University freak the hell outta me. I am glad you came out unscathed.

I was going to give the family member example but saw jinta already had. Cultism is a euphimism for armed robbery. These are not normal people, they are rapists, psychotics, losers, many things. There is nothing 'robin-hoodish' about what these fiends do, and many from Lagos have been arrested on armed robbery charges in states as far as the north.

@ comrade et al- Omotola, then VC of the University of Lagos, about 12 years ago drew up a list of hundreds of cultists, suspected and confirmed. They were rusticated, suspended etc had their names published in all the national dailies, and then their names were sent to all nigerian parastatals, the embassies and high commissions. They were effectively trapped and immobilized, Omotola showing that cultists are not spirits, just thieving punks. Omotola suffered no reprisals, showing as many had said that every university possessed the intrinsic power to control cultism.

LASU was rated the most violent school in africa once by the BBC, and was richly deserving of it. The problem hasnt been controlled yet, and the robberies seen around the cities of this country are usually 'powered' by cultists.

Every school can follow the Unilag lead. And yes, they are everywhere now, working quietly as 'sleepers' in many places, with allegiance to their first loves.

once attended a naming ceremony with a friend who had earlier when we met told me he was a Viking. At the naming, at a point, he and some other guys left to some corner to do God knows what, including the father of the day. For some of them, it exists for ever, and they use themselves to offer eachother help. It gets bad and dirty, when they have to harm people.

I had goosebumps reading this... TERRIBLE... absolutely TERRIBLE... God! I just heard a friend(really really quiet guy) i was friends with in Nigeria is in a cult... something about join or die... i think we have a choice(maybe im ignorant cos i dont live in Nigeria and never attended a university there).. but I really do think they have a choice... Its just absolutely terrible... rape, gunshots... whats the bloody point of it all?

Cultism is so common place in Polytechnic Ilorin, Ibadan, Ekpoma, Uni-Port and of course LASU.

I attended O.A.U and despite the eradication of cultism, they struck in 1999 and killed 5 innocent guys. They shot at random though they purposely went to our General Secretary room and killed him!!!It was a sad period for us.

I lost a nephew yrs back. I was told that he was shot by cult members. He was an alumni of Polytechnic Ilorin.

The reason why am never overly impressed by cool, rich,easy going guys is because, I always say to myself "who knows what is beneath that facade of coolness and all"

i went 2 FUTO, which was a school where d cult boys were seriously subdued, but we had of the exploits they made in other schools. there was only 1 shooting incident i can remember of my 5 years in dat sch. sure cult guys r amongst us. my bestfriend's brother was one & me & him r almost as close as i am 2 his sis. shit happens, dear

Meeeen, reading this post and comments just gives me the chilllls. I really bow for una wey study for naija higher institutions o. I'm watching Star Quest now and i'm checking all the guys in the competition. And i'm trying to guess who could be a cultist among them. I know it sounds silly and all.